The oldest food festival, the Kona Coffee Festival, will be held November 3-12. The very first festival occurred in 1970 with the intent to preserve, perpetuate and promote Kona’s unique, nearly 200 year heritage.
It has grown to 10 days of activities and seminars, and ends with the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest.
The KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, Nov. 12 at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa in Keauhou.
There are limited printed entry forms at any of the KTA stores, and the form can be downloaded on the konacoffeefest.com website — look for the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest section.
The competition is open to professionals, culinary students, amateurs and keiki, competing in two categories — sweet and savory — using Kona coffee as an ingredient.
Please start working on your recipes to include our famous Kona coffee.
I have been a judge for many years for the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest and would like to give you hints if you are planning to enter. If you achieve these things that I have listed, you will certainly have a good chance to have a winning recipe!
1. The taste of Kona coffee has to come through in your dish. It needs to jump out and not be subtle. This is difficult to achieve because coffee tends to take a back seat to other flavors. Remember this rule I learned from Chef Alan Wong: There is only one ingredient that is a “bully” with the dominant flavor; the rest of the ingredients tend to be “princesses.” So when creating your recipe, remember that bananas and tomato paste are often “bullies” because they become the dominant flavors. You really want the Kona coffee to be the bully, yet not be overpowering and bitter.
2. Your submitted recipe should be very clear and specific. When possible, use local ingredients and state that in your recipe. Giving the specific location is very impressive, like Hamakua or Honokaa macadamia nuts, or Waimea tomatoes, or locally-grown vanilla beans from Paauilo.
3. Think about experimenting with locally-produced macadamia flour instead of all-purpose flour. It is more impressive to the judges. Even just one teaspoon of Kona-produced sea salt is impressive. It shows you care about using local products.
4. It may be difficult to make a dish that is probably brown (because it contains Kona coffee) look attractive, but presentation is very important. Really work on eye appeal on your display as well as taste in your dish in your final display.
Now that you have one judge’s perspective of what it takes to have a winning recipe, you have time to hone your recipe so you can enter the contest and win one of the following prizes in the different divisions.
In the savory professional division:
1st place: $500 cash prize and a trophy
2nd place: $150 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place: $100 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
Amateur division:
1st place: $200 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place: $100 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place: $75 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
College Culinary Student:
1st place: $200 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place $100 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place $75 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
In the sweet division:
Professional division:
1st place: $500 cash prize and a trophy
2nd place: $150 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place:$100 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
Amateur division:
1st place: $200 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place:$100 KTA gift and a ribbon
3rd place: $75 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
College Culinary Student:
1st place: $200 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place: $100 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place: $75 KTA gift certificate and ribbon
Keiki ages 12 and under”
1st place: $100 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place: $50 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place: $25 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
Keiki ages 13-18
1st place: $150 KTA gift certificate and a trophy
2nd place: $75 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
3rd place: $50 KTA gift certificate and a ribbon
Best wishes to all the chefs out there to create a winning Kona coffee recipe!
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Hawaii Community College’s Culinary Programs Cafeteria and Da Ohana Corner is open for your pleasure from today till Friday. Call (808) 934-2591 for Da Ohana Corner, and (808) 934-2559 for The Cafeteria. Please support your future chefs.
More on Supermarket Etiquette:
I was at the market the other day, waiting for a customer to decide what fruits she was going to buy. I watched as she touched all the apples along the line, going to the next variety, touching more apples and then leaving without buying a single apple. I couldn’t help but wonder what was on her mind as she did that. I know she doesn’t read my column, otherwise she would never have done that, especially because I was behind her, waiting and observing what she was doing!
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.